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Chapter 3
“Are you crazy? Nooo, you can’t!”
A child’s shriek echoed through the room.
“Please! Save me!”
Yoon Tae-jin clasped his hands and bowed flat on the floor in front of Jin Do-hyeon.
Ever since the writer of Our Youngest had given him a strange look at the Clef Entertainment building a few days ago, he had been coming to Do-hyeon’s house every day and begging like this.
There was only one reason.
He wanted Do-hyeon to appear as the “youngest” on Our Youngest.
“I’m a producer! Do I look like a kindergartener to you? Huh?!”
“Look in the mirror! The way you look right now and the things you’re doing, you’re practically a preschool—”
“Shuush!”
Jin Do-hyeon snatched up the back-scratcher beside him and shouted.
This little wooden stick had somehow become both his treasured possession and an essential survival item.
Since his body had shrunk, even his arms had become shorter, and without it, he couldn’t scratch his back.
“Haah… Hyuuung! I’m already stressed out enough, okay? Please stop bothering meee!”
Jin Do-hyeon vigorously scratched his back with the back-scratcher.
“Just save me! You said you’d help me!”
“Ahem!”
How had things come to this?
Jin Do-hyeon cursed himself for opening the door earlier.
Until just ten minutes ago, he had been enjoying a perfectly peaceful time.
It was a children’s animation so painfully childish that it made your hands and feet curl in embarrassment—a story about tiny fairies who played the piano and created songs to defeat villains.
At least, that was what he had thought at first.
But then—
“Oh?”
While flipping through the channels, Jin Do-hyeon happened to come across the animation Piano Fairy Doremi, and it immediately captured both his eyes and ears.
The protagonist, “Doremi,” summoned a piano and performed a dazzling piece. Her friend and rival, “Misola,” added melodies with a shoulder keyboard. Then the mercenary “Tamtam” summoned drums, creating a perfect ensemble.
“Melody Beam!”
“Gyaaaah!”
An enormous burst of energy erupted, and the villain collapsed miserably.
Damn! It’s dopamine overload every time I watch it! A masterpiece!
And that wasn’t all.
He had assumed that a children’s animation theme song would be simple, but he was wrong.
The entire song was built around a C#m money chord progression, but when examined in detail, it was actually quite intricately designed.
The verse used the Lydian scale to create a mysterious atmosphere, as though magic were being cast, while the chorus utilized the Phrygian scale to maximize the grand emotional impact.
On the surface, it looked like a childish children’s animation filled with cute little characters.
But its theme song was so well-made that it could make your heart race.
A few days ago, Jin Do-hyeon, who had suddenly become a child, had spent quite some time in a state of panic.
And understandably so.
He had suddenly become a child without knowing why, and the fact that he hadn’t gone insane was something to be grateful for.
‘What’s the reason? Who did this? Can I go back?’
His head had been filled with worries and useless thoughts, but in the end, he couldn’t find any answers.
Yet strangely, as time passed, his mind gradually became calmer.
They said humans were creatures of adaptation.
Had he really adapted?
Or had his mind and thoughts become simpler along with his body?
Or had his brain simply been unable to accept such an unrealistic situation and driven him insane in the process…
Whatever the case, Piano Fairy Doremi had been like rain during a drought, something that had given Jin Do-hyeon something to hold on to.
Thanks to it, he had even paid for the premium episodes and was now binge-watching the entire series.
Today, he had planned to binge-watch Season 3 with a sweet drink by his side.
But then—
‘Damn it!’
When the doorbell rang, Do-hyeon naturally assumed his drink delivery had arrived.
Who would have thought it would be Yoon Tae-jin?!
“……”
Tae-jin wasn’t happy about the situation either.
In fact, he hadn’t intended to ask Jin Do-hyeon for this favor in the first place.
Jin Do-hyeon had suddenly become a child.
Tae-jin had been worried sick.
‘Is his mind okay? Is he eating properly?’
Unable to sit around doing nothing, he had personally gone to Do-hyeon’s house.
But—
“Nyahahaha!”
“Kwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
…Do-hyeon had been doing so well(?) that Tae-jin felt like an idiot for worrying about him all day.
The living room was littered with snack bags and empty drink cans, while the five-year-old child had spent the entire day sprawled across the sofa watching cartoons.
And most importantly—
“Hyung, don’t worry!”
“What if you never return to normal…?”
“You almost sound like you’re hoping that happens.”
“As if! LUMIS needs to make a comeback soon, too…”
“Huh? What do you take me for? What does the body matter? My genius talent is perfectly fine. Worrying about LUMIS escaping its washed-up-idol status? Don’t worry. I’ll even have the company building remodeled for you.”
Now that he was in a child’s body, Jin Do-hyeon had been boasting even more confidently than before, raising Tae-jin’s expectations even further.
And yet, right now—
“I’m buh-sy, so go hooome.”
He was stretched out on the sofa, waving his hand—or rather, waving the back-scratcher—at Tae-jin, telling him to leave immediately.
A sense of emptiness washed over Tae-jin.
‘This is all because of that Doremi or Misolpa or whatever those things are!’
Tae-jin’s anger was directed at the innocent children’s program.
“Oh, right! Has anyone been looking for me?”
At that moment, Jin Do-hyeon suddenly stood up and asked.
“…Not particularly?”
“…Really? Good. Guess I can take a nice, long break for a while.”
Jin Do-hyeon flopped back down.
The corners of his eyes glimmered.
‘…Is he crying?’
Yoon Tae-jin looked at Jin Do-hyeon with pity.
There wasn’t a single thing about the way he talked or behaved that was particularly lovable, but on the other hand, he was a truly pitiful person.
There were plenty of people looking for Producer Jin Do-hyeon and idol-turned-producer Jin Do-hyeon.
But there were very few people looking for Jin Do-hyeon the human being.
He never showed what was inside him, put up a wall whenever someone seemed to get close, and often just disappeared without a word or even a message.
That was why people called him “self-centered” and “doing whatever he wanted.”
But Yoon Tae-jin knew.
That was simply Jin Do-hyeon’s way of protecting himself.
He was someone who didn’t know how to rely on other people.
Someone who isolated himself, saying that being alone was more comfortable.
Someone who had never said he was lonely, yet always looked lonely.
That was how he had always been—keeping his distance from the world.
‘…Yeah. He’s human too. Of course he’d feel hurt.’
“Haaaahm— What? Why are you looking at me?”
Jin Do-hyeon yawned with his tiny mouth stretched wide and asked.
‘…Never mind. I seriously underestimated this bastard.’
Tae-jin had thought those were tears of sadness.
They were tears from a yawn.
Ah, this wasn’t the time for that.
“…You’re serious, aren’t you?”
Yoon Tae-jin suddenly stood up and asked.
“Mm-hm.”
Jin Do-hyeon answered while picking his nose with his tiny hand.
His eyes remained fixed on Doremi on the television.
“Oh, Hyung!”
“…What?”
“Take a coffee with you when you leave. I ordered two extra cups just to meet the minimum order.”
“……”
What an annoying little bastard…
Yoon Tae-jin clenched his teeth as he stared at Jin Do-hyeon.
His fists trembled.
“…Fine. I’ll enjoy it. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Tae-jin took a deep breath and steeled himself.
“Mm~ I won’t regret it.”
Jin Do-hyeon lazily waved the back-scratcher.
“Han Jin-seo is going to VISTA, apparently.”
“…What?”
Jin Do-hyeon shot upright.
“Stop moving!”
Yoon Tae-jin stopped walking.
Then he grinned and turned around.
“How about it? Are you finally willing to talk to me?”
“Puhahaha!”
Jin Do-hyeon rolled around on the sofa, clutching his stomach.
“So that’s how it is…”
Then he suddenly put on a cold expression.
“Pfft!”
And burst out laughing again.
“Yeah… I guess that can happen.”
He alternated between laughing like a madman and suddenly becoming serious.
“You sure?”
“I told you, I’m sure!”
“Hah.”
Jin Do-hyeon scoffed.
Watching him, Yoon Tae-jin smiled inwardly with satisfaction.
Normally, Tae-jin was always the one getting pushed around by Jin Do-hyeon.
But today was different.
If he knew how to provoke Do-hyeon’s competitive spirit, he could occasionally get the upper hand.
“Hehehe. Han Jin-seo is going to VISTA? And he’s taking charge of the new group debuting this time?”
“Exactly!”
Yoon Tae-jin snapped his fingers with a satisfied smile.
VISTA Entertainment.
One of the major entertainment agencies in Korea, and also the company where Jin Do-hyeon had once worked as a composer and producer.
Do-hyeon had created countless hit songs and produced countless albums at VISTA.
But eventually, he left.
There were various reasons: differences in work styles, differences in values, differences in personalities, and so on.
But if he had to name the real reason—
“I want to raise the idols I create in my own way!”
It was because of Jin Do-hyeon’s own ambition and thirst.
VISTA had the advantages of a systematic system and powerful financial backing.
But at the same time, it was also a place that erased the individuality of its in-house producers.
In the end, Jin Do-hyeon left VISTA to pursue his dream of creating something “real,” in his own way and with his own colors.
And then, one day, a mosquito he had forgotten about appeared.
“Hyung, I heard you left VISTA. Or rather, you didn’t leave—you got kicked out, right?”
“Hyung, I heard there was plagiarism controversy over BURN IT UP.”
“Hyung, you’ve been pretty quiet lately. Are you retiring completely? Well, I guess you’ve already done too well compared to your actual talent, right?”
“Hyung.”
“Hyung, hyung!”
“Hyuung~!”
Producer Han Jin-seo, a former idol.
Perhaps because their career paths were similar, he had a strong inferiority complex toward Jin Do-hyeon.
His inferiority complex was so severe that not only people in the industry but even the fans knew about it.
Of course, Han Jin-seo himself stubbornly denied it.
Anyway, that guy had joined VISTA?
And he was even in charge of a rookie project?
It was painfully obvious how much more he was going to annoy Do-hyeon from now on.
‘Even a mosquito you can swat with one hit gets annoying if it keeps buzzing around your ear.’
The mosquito had caught Jin Do-hyeon’s attention.
But now that mosquito had even acquired black stripes.
So it’s become a mountain mosquito?
A clash between a washed-up idol and a major agency’s highly anticipated rookie…
‘This could be pretty fun.’
It was the perfect thing to stimulate Jin Do-hyeon’s competitive spirit and desire for a challenge.
“What’s LUMIS doing right now?”
After laughing and becoming serious over and over, Jin Do-hyeon finally put on a normal(?) expression and spoke.
“Huh? They’re probably in the practice room…”
“What? Don’t tell me they’re practicing that song I heard last time.”
“T-The title track…”
“Don’t even say the word ‘title’ out loud!”
“……”
Yoon Tae-jin zipped his lips shut with his index finger and thumb, as if closing a zipper.
“Jeez…”
Jin Do-hyeon shook his head and hopped down from the sofa.
“Wh-Where are you going?”
“To recharge LUMIS.”
“Recharge…?”
Jin Do-hyeon rolled his short neck around, loosening it.
“Han Jin-seo. We’ve gotta swat that mosquito bastard. Do you really think an ordinary flyswatter will be enough? We need an electric fly swatter at the very least!”
“Oh!”
Yoon Tae-jin’s face brightened.
But soon, he tilted his head and asked,
“Are… are you really going like that?”
“What? Why?”
At that moment, Jin Do-hyeon saw his reflection in the mirror and was horrified.
Short arms.
Short legs.
And the children’s clothes Tae-jin had bought him.
His tiny T-shirt was struggling to cover his adorable, protruding belly.
It had definitely been white…
But it was now covered in spilled drink stains and snack crumbs.
“……”
“Let’s get you washed up before we go. Want me to give you a bath, Hyung?”
“Sh-Shut up!”
